A Three Day Celebration of the Culture of the Eastern Shore.

For three days every November, between 18,000 and 20,000 visitors discover the best of local wildlife, nature, art, heritage, food, and fun at the Waterfowl Festival. While strolling along the lovely streets of Easton, visitors can discover the town and a tradition that has been going strong for generations.

More than 1,000 volunteers work year-round to stage the show, most coming back to lend their talents and time year after year.

Art collectors find exceptional wildlife art from renowned master artists, along with a variety of events and vendors for all to enjoy that display everything from fishing lures to all-terrain vehicles and boats. Those looking for entertainment can take in retriever demonstrations Diving Dogs competitions, goose and duck calling contests, and stre­et musicians. Holiday shoppers can find unique items for everyone on their list. And after an afternoon of fun at exploration, visitors can sample mouth- watering Eastern Shore cuisine, supplied by local nonprofit organizations raise important funds for their or other worthwhile causes.

Artists From Across the World:

Shop from the world-renowned painters, sculptors, carvers and photographers to find that perfect piece.

Fun for the Whole Family:

Join family and friends to celebrate the traditions, music, art and food that makes this area of the world so special.

Delicious Food and Drink:

Whether you’re at the Tasting Pavilion, the Beer Wetland or at one of many food vendors, you’ll find the best food and drink here.

World Waterfowl Calling Championship Competition:

Location: Easton High School Auditorium, 723 Mecklenberg Ave - Blue Bus Line

Competitors are immersed in the language of the incredible waterfowl of the region, competing against each other the for coveted title of World Champion.

Callers from all around the world come to Easton once a year to showcase their skills and hope to be immortalized in the history books of Championship Calling. Many of the industry’s leaders in waterfowl calling and hunting have gotten their start on the calling championship stage at the Waterfowl Festival.

The World Championship Goose Calling Championship, founded in 1976, is the longest running goose calling championship in the United States. This Championship has single-handily changed the shape and face of the goose calling and waterfowling industry! Prize packages range from $5,000 to $12,000 in cash and prizes thanks to all our Corporate partners.

With audiences of 600+, five championships and incredible prize packages on the line, the stage is always set for an exciting evening. The beauty of Easton’s championships is the level playing ground. Anyone, novice or master, can blow. The World Waterfowl Calling Championships bring in judges from all the flyways, to have representation from across the country.

All the callers on our stage showcase their incredible abilities to operate a duck or goose call. However, our live championships stress that all callers must replicate the sounds of actual ducks and geese. The callers are instructed to not go outside the realm of natural sounds of ducks and geese. By leveling the playing field, any and all callers are urged to participate. This championship is not about who can operate a call the best, but who sounds the best in the field!

Admission:
Preliminary Rounds (Fri and Sat) – FREE
Finals (Sat. Eve) – FREE w/ Festival Ticket OR $10 per person

Schedule:

Friday, Nov. 11, 2022

10am  – Noon: Registration Open (All)
11am: Judges and Callers Meeting

Preliminaries (Senior)

12:30pm: World Championship Team Live Goose Calling Contest
2pm: World Championship Team Live Duck Calling Contest
3:30pm: World Championship Live Goose Calling Contest
5pm: World Championship Live Duck Calling Contest
6pm: World Championship Goose Calling Contest

Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022

9am  – 11am: Registration Open (Juniors Only)
10:30am: Judges and Callers Meeting

Preliminaries (Junior)
11am: Junior World Championship Live Duck Calling Contest
12:15pm: Junior World Championship Live Goose Calling Contest

FINALS:
2pm: Festival Ticket or $10 admission fee required
Juniors compete first, followed by Senior finalists in order of Friday competition.

Registration and Competitor Info

Celebrate the Festival with the sporting crowd, fresh off their wins at the Calling Championships at the Sportsman’s Party.

Get Tickets

Various Live Demonstrations:

Join us for our live demonstration events including fly-fishing, retriever dog demonstrations, raptor demonstrations, the kids' fishing derby, and the children's calling clinic (pre-registration required).

Delmarva Dock Dogs:

Visitors will be entertained while watching one of the fastest growing dog sports in North America. See which dogs have what it takes to win the competition.

Location: Sportsman’s Pavilion at the Elk’s Lodge - Blue Bus Line

Delmarva Dock Dogs is the local chapter of a larger organization, DockDogs Worldwide.

DockDogs is the independent governing and sanctioning body for regional, national and international dock jumping and dock diving, dog performance sports.

Friday, November 11, 2022

Onsite Registration/Practice – 9:00am
Big Air Wave # 1 – 10:00am
Iron Dog – 11:00am
Big Air Wave # 02 – 11:30am
Big Air Wave # 3 – 1:30pm
Big Air Wave # 4 – 3:30pm

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Onsite Registration/Practice – 9:00am
Big Air Wave # 5 – 10:00 am
Big Air Wave # 6 – 11:30 am
Extreme Vertical Competition – 1:00pm
Big Air Wave # 7 – 3:30 pm

Sunday, November 13, 2022

Onsite Registration/Practice – 8:30am
Big Air Wave # 8 – 9:30am
Big Air Wave # 9 – 11:00am
Practice in between waves as time allows (no set times) – 12:30pm
Speed Retrieve (All in one Finals) – 1:00pm
Big Air Finals – 3:00pm

Kid's Activities:

The Festival offers several events for children of all ages. Events include art activities, story time, the Phillips Wharf Fishmobile, a mermaid show, and more!

Children’s Calling Clinic (Ages 4-14)

Location: Sportsman’s Pavilion at the Elk’s Lodge, 502 Dutchman’s Lane - Blue Bus Line

Saturday: Duck Calling: 11am and Goose Calling: 1pm

The Waterfowl Festival takes great pride in passing on the Eastern Shore’s sportsmen’s heritage and traditions to the next generation of duck and goose callers.

Join one or both workshops as a world-class caller demonstrates and assists young callers. Participants will be sent home with their own call, as duck calls have been generously donated by RM Custom Calls, and goose calls from Sean Mann Outdoors. We hope these young callers will appear on our calling contest stage in the future!

Kids’ Education and Art Activities:

Location: Easton Elementary School - Blue Bus Line

Kids’ Art Activities with the Ward Museum

Friday and Saturday: 11:30am – 3:30pm
Sunday: 11:30am – 4:00pm

In partnership with the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, the Festival’s Youngest visitors can try their hand at decoy carving, soap carving, and painting decoy magnets.

Birds of Prey from Raptor’s Eye

Friday and Saturday: 10:00am – 2:00pm

Visit real life birds of prey with Liz Smith of Raptor’s Eye.

Kids’ Decoy Painting Class

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: 10:15am
Friday and Saturday: 3:45pm

Children will paint a miniature decoy of a Pintail and learn about the aquatic bird’s habitat.

The fun starts promptly at 10:30am, with space being limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. You may register at the entrance of the Chesapeake Marketplace. The suggested age is 5+.

Readings by Local Authors

Authors and Times
Sit down for storytimes throughout the weekend featuring local Chesapeake animals and themes.

Books from all authors will be available to purchase, cash only, throughout the weekend. Enjoy a story and grab a perfect stocking stuffer.

The Chesapeake Mermaid Show

Friday, Saturday and Sunday: 11:00am – 3:00pm

The Chesapeake Mermaid is a travelling nature show run by real environmental volunteers, focusing on oysters as a critical element in restoring the balance in the Bay, along with other marine and terrestrial wildlife.

Children will hear the story “The Last Bivalvian,” as well as her new book, “The Giants of the Bay,” and there will be opportunities for one-on-one pictures with the mermaid after the shows.

Art Activity with the Academy Art Museum

Friday: 2:00pm – 5:00pm

Stop in to enjoy an art activity with the Academy Art Museum. Every year, their unique activity combines an art technique and conservation.

Phillips Wharf Environmental Center’s Fishmobile

Open all weekend!

Climb inside the Fishmobile, featuring 13 tanks and 2 touch tanks, all of which feature live animals that live in and around the Chesapeake Bay. You’ll also see educational displays that highlight topics such as the history of our region and how our daily activities affect the animals that call the Chesapeake home. Thank you to Cafe 401 at the Old Brick Inn for sponsoring the Fishmobile at the Festival!

Kids’ Fishing Derby:

Location: Bay Street Ponds - Orange Bus Line

Saturday and Sunday: 10:00am – 4:00pm

Volunteers from the MidShore Chapter of the Maryland Coastal Conservation Association and the Easton Elks Lodge #1622, instruct children on how to cast and reel in their line.

Sky Hunters in Flight (Raptor Demonstrations)

Location: VFW

Watch hawks, falcons, and owls sharpen their hunting skills during an exciting flight demonstration with Wings over America.

Retriever (Dogs) Demonstrations:

Location: Bay Street Ponds - Orange Bus Line

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: 11am, 1pm, and 3pm

The Retriever Demonstrations are entertaining and amazing as these exceptionally skilled canines show off by leaping into a pond to fetch a thrown or hidden dummy.
You don’t have to be a hunter to appreciate the intelligence demonstrated by the retrievers and the training skills of their handlers who are members of the Talbot Retriever Club.

Fly Fishing Demonstrations:

Location: Bay Street Ponds - Orange Bus Line

Saturday and Sunday: 10:40am and 12:40pm

Joe Cap will show visitors the special techniques of casting with a fly rod, an ancient art that uses artificial lures instead of bait to catch fish. You can even try your hand with a rod and may get converted to a new fishing religion of your own.

Live Music:

Location: Downtown Easton, Various Locations - Blue Bus Line, Orange Bus Line

Friday and Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Sunday, 10am – 4pm

There are plenty of musical offerings to suit any taste throughout Waterfowl weekend, so enjoy strolling around downtown Easton during the Festival. You are sure to be entertained!

There is nothing better than strolling through the town of Easton on an autumn afternoon. Add the festive feeling – and the musical entertainment that accompanies Waterfowl weekend – and you just might have the picture of idyllic small-town living at its best.

Harry M. Walsh Waterfowling History and Artifacts

Location: Easton High School - Blue Bus Line

Friday and Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Sunday, 10am – 4pm

Learn about the evolution of waterfowling, from an economic necessity to the sport of today.

Some of these seldom seen treasures, on loan from private and museum collections, date back hundreds of years, and include decoys, guns, gunning boats, and countless related items. Many are priceless rarities offered up by collectors.

Wine, Beer and Tasting Pavilion

Palate Pleasers

Location: In the Tents, 40 S. Harrison Street - Blue Bus Line, Orange Bus Line

Friday and Saturday, 11am – 5pm
Sunday, 11am – 4pm

Celebrating our excellent Maryland vintners, brewers, and producers of other gourmet items, you are sure to have a tasty experience when you visit this popular venue. Offering wines and beers, cheeses and sweets, this is a palate pleasing pavilion!

In addition to needing a Festival badge or ticket to enter, there is a $10 fee for the wristband and glass that allow anyone 21 and older to taste the wines and beers.

Beer and wine by the glass is available for purchase, too. Visitors may also purchase bottles to take home.

Sportsman’s Pavilion

Location: Easton Elks Lodge, 502 Dutchman’s Lane - Blue Bus Line

Friday and Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Sunday, 10am – 4pm

Outdoor enthusiasts and sporting visitors can delight in the array of Sportsman’s Pavilion vendors, offering everything from big-game hunting adventure trips to the smallest fishing lure.

Find outdoor apparel from hats to boots, calls to lure the gees and taxidermists to stuff the ones bagged.

Buy, Sell, Swap

Location: Easton High School, 723 Mecklenburg Ave - Blue Bus Line

Friday and Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Sunday, 10am – 4pm

Whether a dedicated collector, first time buyer, or browser, any visitor can find something of interest!

Get collectors together and they will inevitably start buying, selling, and swapping their treasures. “Buy, Sell, Swap,” our trading bazaar, shows off a staggering array of decoys, hunting and sporting memorabilia, sporting books, and much more. Prices range from pocket change to the thousands of dollars.

Bay Street Ponds:

Location: Bay Street - Orange Bus Line

Saturday and Sunday

Hunting and fishing – the sporting element of wildlife and outdoor appreciation – are integral traditions for many Eastern Shore natives.

Whether you are a hunter, angler, boater, dog lover, or just an outdoor enthusiast, you’ll find something to interest you at the Bay Street Ponds. Festival guests can enjoy a glimpse of the hunting and angling world with the Retriever Demonstrations, Kids Fishing Derby and Fly Fishing Demonstrations.

Galleries:

Art at the Academy
Location: The Academy Art Museum, 106 South Street - Blue Bus Line, Orange Bus Line
Friday and Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Sunday, 10am – 4pm
Painters, sculptors and carvers will be exhibiting in five downtown galleries: Art at the Armory, Art at the Academy, Art at the Avalon, Art at the Church, and Art at the Pavilion. Exhibitors welcome the opportunity to share their artistic talent with guests – both experienced collectors and those simply touched by one of the artists’ images. There is nothing like the thrill of purchasing one’s first significant piece of art directly from the artist.

Art at the Armory:
Location: The Waterfowl Building (Armory), 40 S. Harrison Street - Blue Bus Line, Orange Bus Line
Friday and Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Sunday, 10am – 4pm
Painters and sculptors will be exhibiting in five downtown galleries: Art at the Armory, Art at the Avalon, Art at the Academy, Art at the Church and Art at the Pavilion. Exhibitors welcome the opportunity to share their artistic talent with guests – both experienced collectors and those simply touched by one of the artists’ images. There is nothing like the thrill of purchasing one’s first significant piece of art directly from the artist.

Art at the Avalon:
Location: The Avalon Theatre, 40 E. Dover Street - Blue Bus Line, Orange Bus Line
Friday and Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Sunday, 10am – 4pm
Painters and sculptors will be exhibiting in five downtown galleries: Art at the Armory, Art at the Academy, Art at the Avalon, Art at the Church and Art at the Pavilion. Exhibitors welcome the opportunity to share their artistic talent with guests – both experienced collectors and those simply touched by one of the artists’ images. There is nothing like the thrill of purchasing one’s first significant piece of art directly from the artist.

Art at the Church:
Location: Christ Church of Easton, Corner of South and Harrison Streets - Blue Bus Line, Orange Bus Line
Friday and Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Sunday, 11am – 4pm
We are excited to have the artists of the Working Artists Forum as part of the 2022 Waterfowl Festival! Launched in 1979 by a small group of artists, the Working Artists Forum – with over 100 members – is today a thriving arts organization with many vital connections within our arts community. WAF members exhibit widely, win awards, teach classes and workshops, and actively participate in arts events throughout our region. Monthly member meetings promote camaraderie through discussion of upcoming exhibits and a lively demonstration by a well-known guest artist. Their summer juried exhibit Local Color (presented in partnership with the Avalon Foundation’s Plein Air Easton) attracts hundreds of patrons and enjoys excellent sales. Working Artists Forum also presents numerous group shows throughout the year, both on the Eastern Shore and in venues across Maryland/DC. In an effort to support student artists and their teachers, Working Artists Forum donates monies directly to elementary school art teachers for much needed classroom art supplies. Additionally, WAF helps support the Avalon Foundation’s After-School Art Program. Click here to learn more about WAF.

Art at the Pavillion
Location: In the Tents, 40 S. Harrison Street - Blue Bus Line
Friday and Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Sunday, 10am – 4pm
Painters and sculptors will be exhibiting in five downtown galleries: Art at the Armory, Art at the Academy, Art at the Avalon, Art at the Church and Art at the Pavilion. Exhibitors welcome the opportunity to share their artistic talent with guests – both experienced collectors and those simply touched by one of the artists’ images. There is nothing like the thrill of purchasing one’s first significant piece of art directly from the artist.

Premiere Night:

November 10, 2022

4:00pm:

Waterfowl Festival Opening Ceremonies

Cocktail Attire

Location: Tidewater Inn

ART BUYERS’ PREVIEW 5 p.m.
All Galleries Open

Join us to kick off our 51st Festival in style! You’ll be the first to view this year’s Federal Duck Stamp and meet the winning artist, while also helping us celebrate some of those who have made us who we are—our long time volunteers and 2022 Hall of Fame inductees.

The Waterfowl Festival’s Carving Committee is pleased to announce that the William A. Perry Scholarship Cocktail Decoy Auction will be held as a silent auction in 2022, so all festival-goers will have an opportunity to bid. The one-of-a-kind carvings will be displayed in the atrium of the Academy Art Museum from Thursday, November 10, through Sunday, November 13. As they have for over 30 years, the proceeds from the auction will benefit the William A. Perry Scholarship Fund. Auction winners may either pick up decoys on Sunday afternoon or have them shipped.

Purchase Package here

Click Here for Festival Tickets

Date: November 10 - 13, 2022

Location: Various Venues in Easton, MD 21601.

Click Here for More Information